Once Upon a Time in America

The story interweaves three different eras in American history: 1968, the early 1930s, and the early 1920s. The film shows an elderly Noodles (De Niro's character) looking back on his life and beginnings of his mob career. However, in the DVD commentary, Richard Schickel presents the notion that everything is an opium-induced dream which the main character has in 1933, containing memories from the past and contemplations on the future. This so-called "Dream Theory" is popular among many fans of the film, and is often the cause of heated debate (see below).

[edit]

Plot Summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The plot involves the remembrances of Noodles in 1968, having been summoned back to New York by unknown persons (after hiding out for over thirty years). As he tracks down the person who has contacted him, he is forced to confront his past.

The film, which begins in 1933 with the aftermath of the death of Noodles' friends Max, Patsy, and Cockeye after a failed robbery attempt, and the Mafia hunting down Noodles, consists mostly of two large flashback scenes, along with a framing device as Noodles in 1968 tries to track down the person who contacted him.

The 1923 (childhood) sequence, widely hailed as the greatest of the movies' "sections", shows young Noodles' (Scott Tiler) struggles as a poor street punk in the Jewish ghetto of Brooklyn. His gang consists of Patrick "Patsy" Goldberg (Brian Bloom), Phillip "Cockeye" Stein (Adrian Curran), (who plays a small pan pipe throughout the film,) and Dominic (Noah Mozelli). They nominally work for local hoodlum Bugsy (James Russo), who has a gang of his own. The scenes deal with Noodles and his gang as they first meet Max Bercovitz (Rusty Jacobs) and become an independent operation under his and Noodles' leadership, the establishment of the gang funds (the suitcase in the train station locker which later becomes a crucial plot piece), and Noodles' fruitless flirtation with Deborah (Jennifer Connelly), a local girl who aspires to be a dancer and actress. The sequence ultimately ends in tragedy as Bugsy, furious over the boys' becoming independent of him, shoots Dominic; Noodles retaliates, stabbing Bugsy to death with a switchblade, along with a police officer who intervenes, and he is sent to jail for nine years.

Noodles is released from jail in 1932 (played now by De Niro) and quickly becomes reacquainted with his old gang: Max (played by James Woods), Patsy (played by James Hayden, a Broadway actor who died of a drug overdose just months before the film's release), and Cockeye (played by William Forsythe), who are now major players in the bootlegging industry. After briefly reuniting with other acquaintances Deborah (Elizabeth McGovern), Deborah's brother Fat Moe (Larry Rapp), who runs the speakeasy, and Peggy (Amy Ryder), Patsy's girlfriend), the gang is recruited by the Minaldi brothers to steal a shipment of diamonds from an insurance dealer and deliver them to Joe. During the robbery, we are introduced to Carol (Tuesday Weld), the jeweler's secretary, who is later to become Max's girlfriend; she's established as a masochist, and Noodles rapes her in this scene. During an exchange at an abandoned dockyard, Joe Minaldi (Young) and his henchmen are gunned down in a surprise hit by the gang; Frankie (Pesci) has arranged the hit to eliminate Joe. Noodles expresses his misgivings at working for the mob, but ultimately drops the subject.

The gang quickly becomes more deeply involved in Mafia matters, including directly intervening in a steel workers' strike on the side of union boss Jimmy Conway O'Donnell (Treat Williams), protecting him against a steel tycoon and his hired thugs, and ultimately destroying the latter. The crew also deals with the corrupt Police Chief Aiello (Danny Aiello), who is being payed off by the steel company, by switching the Chief's newborn son in the hospital with several others. Shortly after this, Carol becomes reacquainted with the gang and falls in love with Max; Noodles goes on a date with Deborah and, after being rejected by her, rapes her in the backseat of their limousine. (Needless to say, this very graphic scene was by far the most controversial part of the movie.)

After this, Max drives the gang in even deeper with the Mafia, union, and politics. Max is very willing and eager to advance his gang's position, but Noodles still expresses misgivings. After Prohibition is repealed, Noodles balks when Max suggests that they launch a robbery of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, realizing it's a suicidal gesture. Noodles is convinced by Carol to tip off the police about a planned liquor run, and Max, Patsy, and Cockeye are killed in a shootout with police.

In 1968, it is slowly revealed over the course of the story that Max survived, faking his death with help from the Syndicate, and has become Commerce Secretary Christopher Bailey. Bailey is under investigation for claims of corruption, and has hired Noodles to assassinate him without being charged of anything - along with allowing Noodles to obtain his revenge on Max. Noodles refuses, and as he steps into the street a shot of a man looking like Max (though too far away to tell for sure) is seen. A garbage truck passes before we can get a glimpse of the man, and as it disappears, we see things being ground up in the back of the truck. Has Max committed suicide by throwing himself into the grinders?

At this point, an old 1930's car passes, and we see several people dressed up in old style clothes riding in it. God Bless America (Kate Smith's rendition) plays, and these people are presumably celebrating the fourth of July. Whether these were drunk youths partying or a flashback remains unclear.

We then return to the 1930's, with Noodles entering the opium den. He lays down on the little bed and rolls over after doing some opium. He then turns to the camera and gives a beatific smile. The frame freezes, and then the credits roll. See dream theory for a possible explanation of this last scene.

[edit]

A Brief Summary of the "Opium Theory"

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The movie begins and ends with Noodles, in 1933, hiding out in an opium den from the Syndicate hitmen. Since the last shot of the movie is Noodles smiling, high on opium, many people (as mentioned above) interperet the film to have been an opium-induced fantasy or dream, with Noodles remembering his past and envisioning the future. In his commentary for the DVD, film historian and critic Richard Schickel states that opium users often report vivid dreams and that these visions have a tendency to explore the user's past and future.

Opponents of the "Dream Theory" cite the fact that the 1968 sequences include several anecdotes - music from The Beatles (see below), television, and references to the Vietnam War - that did not exist in 1933, and that Noodles would thus not be able to envision such things. Furthermore, opponents of the theory claim that to render the later scenes a dream would remove the thematic and psychological point of the film, which is.......?

Proponents claim that the final scene with Noodles leaving the mansion supports the Dream Theory. The movie begins with a rendition of 'God Bless America' and in the corresponding scene has people riding out in 1930's vintage cars singing the same song. Bailey's betrayal in the future can be interpreted as a transference of guilt. Noodles subconsiously blames Bailey for his entry into 'organized crime' his failed relationship with Deborah and in a way feels betrayed by Max's burgeoning ambition.

Another aspect which they believe proves the theory is the famous 'phone ringing' scene where a phone rings in the opium den and then Noodles remembers the phone ringing in the past when he made the call that betrayed his friends. Immediately after he picks the phone Noodles suddenly wakes up and runs out of the opium den. They argue that for someone who's high on opium for so long, it's quite simply not possible for him to make such a quick getaway. This scene where Noodles wakes up is the beginning of the flashbacks. Also since the last scene of the film is Noodles arriving in the Den, this can be construed as the ending of the film. That is Noodles high on opium ruminating about his past and future as gangsters wait to kill him. If the dream theory holds water then it's likely that Noodles was eventually killed by them.

The ambiguous nature of the ending and its non-chronological frame is arguably the film's most enduring aspect as it demands and rewards those who appreciate repeated viewings. It is a film where the lines between past, present, and future blur.

[edit]

Alternate Versions

[edit]

The Unfilmed Title Scene

Originally, the transition from 1933 to 1968 was to be much more elaborate, but finally the scene simply proved to be too difficult. From the original shooting script:

"We hear the roar of the its wheels and the wail of a train's whistle, and the view across the tracks is blocked by the engine, the tender and the cars - car after car laden with Model T's or whatever Ford was turning out in 1933... The train keeps passing, but the cars are no longer laden with 1933 Fords. They've become 1968 models in pink and turquoise and emerald green, announced by a title that fills the screen: ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA. The train disappears, taking it's rattle with it, and the barriers rise. But we are no longer staring out over open countryside. We see instead an endless row of high-rises, a cement City of Oz. Heading the row of cars that face us at the crossing is a 1960 Chevy. The is in his sixties too... Noodles, forty years later."

[edit]

Deleted Scenes

The original shooting-script, completed in October 1981, was 317 pages in length.

At the end of filming, Leone had about 8 to 10 hours worth of footage. With his editor, Nino Baragli, Leone trimmed this down to about 6 hours, and wanted to release the film in two, three-hour parts.

The producers refused (partly due to the commercial failure of Bertolucci's two-part Novecento) and Leone was forced to further shorten the length of his length, resulting in a completed (i.e. scored, dubbed, edited, etc.) film of 229 minutes.

Leone has said that, ideally, he would have liked the film to be "between four hours ten minutes and four hours twenty-five minutes" (250 minutes to 265 minutes), and that such a cut would mainly have served to restore scenes developing Noodles' relationships with women.

Important scenes which failed to appear in the 229 minute cut:

These scenes were all shot, and the footage still exists. However, it is in a very raw state, not dubbed and not edited.

Young Noodles returns to his tenement, discovering his parents at prayer, and no dinner on the table.

When his parents criticise him for being 'godless,' Noodles retorts that money is his god.

A brief scene in the 1922 sequences, showing local ganglord Bugsy (James Russo) and his gang getting arrested by the police for bootlegging while Noodles and his gang looked on was filmed but cut. This would occur right before the gang's meeting with the Capuano Brothers at the harbor.

The main importance of this scene would be to establish why the gang is working with the Capuanos. Dialogue from that scene indicates that Bugsy had been working with them, but since he and his thugs have now been jailed, Noodles and Co. have taken over his old job.

Shots of a black limousine tailing Noodles.

An ominous garbage-truck, used as a link between 1933 and 1968.

Senator Bailey arguing with an older Jimmy O'Donnel about a pensions scam (just before Noodle's climactic meeting with Bailey).

An opium-induced flashback of Noodles and the gang as children.

Scenes of Louise Fletcher as director of the Riversdale cemetery.

Noodles first meeting with Eve, and many other minor scenes with Eve.

In the original shooting-script, this occurs after the rape of Deborah (which happens at night, rather than early morning), a very drunk Noodles meets Eve in a speakeasy and goes to bed with her, calling her 'Deborah'

Scenes of Noodles watching Deborah performing a Busby Berkely musical-scene (at a nightclub, just before their date), and scenes from Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra (on the DVD's picture-gallery, there is an image of Elizabeth McGovern, dressed as Cleopatra, holding a snake).

A scene of Noodles talking to the cab-driver, before his date with Deborah. There is clear enmity between the two characters, highlighting the way in which Jewish gangsters are perceived by their fellow Jews.

The reason that this scene was cut was because producer Arnon Milchan, who played the chaffeur, felt that he should not have had such a noticeable role in the movie, and he did not want people to make a big deal out of his cameo.

A long scene involving Police Chief Aiello (Danny Aiello) and his involvement with the strike breakers was cut. (Some of the scene's dialogue was reworked into the brief interview with Aiello on the steps of the police station in the final version.) As a follow-up to this, there was a scene where the gang and Sharkey the crooked politician (Robert Harper) plan the famous baby-snatching scene. Noodles wants to kill Aiello, but he's convinced by Max and Sharkey not to.

A brief scene during Noodles, Max, Carol, and Eve's vacation to Florida, where a lifeguard, having heard of the repeal of Prohibition, digs up a bottle of liquor from the beach and drinks it thirstily.

An older Carol (Tuesday Weld) revealing to Noodles that Max had syphilis.

In the original shooting-script, this scene (occurring between the beach scene, and the scene with Carol and Noodles outside the Federal Reserve) Tuesday Weld also tells Noodles about Eve's death: "Oh, how she waited, but you never showed up... She shut the windows and locked the door, and nobody bothered to check. She was in there all the time, with her little capsules... there was nobody at the funeral but me." (The latter part of this scene may never have even been filmed, since Eve's death is depicted very differently in the final film.)

Leone and his editor wanted to finish these scenes for a later release, but were prevented by Leone's death.

[edit]

Falsely Rumoured Scenes and Version

There have been rumours of longer cuts appearing on Italian television, however, according to Christopher Frayling's authoritative book Something To Do With Death these rumors are false, and the longest completed version is the 229 minute version shown at Cannes and now available on DVD.

Many people assume that Joe Pesci's brief second appearance was part of a longer scene. In the original shooting script, this appearance is just there to establish Max's continued involvement with the Combination. Others also believe that there were several additional scenes with Pesci's character filmed, but a reading of the original shooting script shows that this rumor is false. (The reason that Pesci, a name actor, was cast in such a relatively small part was because he had been promised the part of Max, but was turned down by Leone in favor of Woods. As a favor to De Niro, Leone allowed Pesci to pick a part from several available, and he chose the role of Frankie.)

Similarly, many people (including including film-critic Richard Shickel, who records the film's DVD commentary) assume that the frisbee scene was part of a longer sequence.

While the first shooting-script placed much more emphasis on the union subplot, this was very heavily trimmed in the revised shooting-script. Thus, there are not nearly as many union-related deleted-scenes as many people believe.

Note: PAL editions of the DVD have a running time of 219 minutes (and 48 seconds). This is due entirely to PAL speedup.

[edit]

Shortened Versions

There are three abridged versions of the film, none of which are currently available.

The 227 minute version - When the 'complete' film was shown in America, it still had to be trimmed slightly to secure an 'R' rating. Cuts were made to the two rape scenes, and some of the violence at the beginning.

A network television version of three hours (without commercials) was briefly available in the early-to-mid '90s, which retained the film's non-chronlogical order but still left several key scenes out.

The Infamous 144 minute American version - This was the version given wide release in America. Heavily cut by the Ladd Company, against Leone's wishes, the film's story was re-arranged in chronological order, which had the effect of making it even more difficult to follow. Most of the major cuts involved the childhood sequences, which were heavily edited down, making the 1933 sections the most prominent part of the film. All of the scenes in 1968 with Deborah were excised, and the scene with "Secretary Bailey" ended with him shooting himself (albeit offscreen), rather than the famous garbage truck conclusion of the 229 minute version. This version flopped in the US and many critics, who knew about Leone's original cut and what The Ladd Company had did to his film, attacked the short version viciously. Some critics compared shortening the film to shortening Richard Wagner's operas (some of which run over 5 hours), saying that works of art that are meant to be long should be given the respect they deserve. However, today the original 229 minute cut is the one in circulation and this shortened version, while briefly on VHS in the 1980's, is in little demand and almost impossible to find.

[edit]

DVD Releases

The film was released in the late '90s on a poor quality, pan-scan release with no special features aside from the original trailer and brief cast listing. The two-disc special edition was released on DVD in June 2003 and was a best-seller on Amazon.com for several weeks. The result has been hailed as having excellent image-quality (partly due to the high bit-rate, which places this on a level with most superbit DVDs). However, it has been criticised for its limited extras and the fact that, being spread out on two double-layer disks, Disc 1 ends very abruptly, during an action sequence. (The film’s 'Intermission' doesn't occur until 40 minutes into Disc 2, so placing the disc-break later would have meant compressing Disc 1 far more heavily.)

[edit]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Leone's long-time collaborator, Ennio Morricone. Due to the film's unusually long gestation, Morricone had finished composing most of the soundtrack, before the scenes had even been filmed. "Deborah's Theme", considered by many to be the best piece of this soundtrack, was in fact originally written for another film in the 1970s but rejected; Morricone presented the piece to Leone, who was initially reluctant, considering it too similar to Morricone's main title for Once Upon a Time in the West.

Track Listing

1. Once Upon a Time in America
2. Poverty
3. Deborah's Theme
4. Childhood Memories
5. Amapola
6. Friends
7. Prohibition Dirge
8. Cockeye's Song
9. Amapola, Pt. 2
10. Childhood Poverty
11. Photographic Memories
12. Friends
13. Friendship & Love
14. Speakeasy
15. Deborah's Theme-Amapola
16. Suite from Once Upon a Time in America (Includes Amapola) [#]
17. Poverty [Temp. Version][#]
18. Unused Theme [#]
19. Unused Theme [Version 2][#]

Besides the original music, the movie also used several pieces of "found" music, including:

"God Bless America" (written by Irving Berlin, performed by Kate Smith - 1943) - Plays over the opening credits from a radio in Eve's bedroom. (Incidentally, the recording of the song used was not sung until 1943, for the film This is the Army, so its use is a slight anachronism on Leone's part.)
"Yesterday" (written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney - 1965) - A muzak version of this piece plays when Noodles' first returns to New York in 1968, examining himself in a train station mirror. An instrumental version of the song also plays briefly during the dialogue scene between Noodles and "Bailey" towards the end of the film.
"Amapola" (written by Joseph M. Le Calle (American lyrics by Albert Gamse) - 1923) - Actually originally an opera piece, several instrumental versions of this song were played during the film; a jazzy version which played on the gramophone danced to by young Deborah in 1922; a similar version played by Fat Moe's jazz band in the speakeasy in 1932; and a string version, during Noodles' date with Deborah. (It has been suggested that Leone used this piece after seeing a version of it in the film Carnal Knowledge, though this has not been confirmed.) Both versions are available on the soundtrack.
The Thieving Magpie (Overture) (Gioacchino Rossini - 1817) - Used during the baby-switching scene in the hospital.
"Summertime" (George Gershwin - 1935) - Played by a jazz band during the beach scene after the beachgoers receive word of Prohibition's repeal. (This song post-dates the events of the film by two/three years, so like the version of "God Bless America" used in the film's opening, it's a slight but understandable anachronism.)
"Night and Day" (written and sung by Cole Porter - 1932) - Plays during Secretary Bailey's party in 1968.

Once Upon a Time in America is widely regarded as Morricone's best work, but was disqualified, on a technicality, from Oscar consideration; in the original American print, Morricone's name was (accidentally) left off of the opening credits by the producers.

[edit]

Critical reception and current perception of the film

The film's premiere at the Cannes Film Festival was an astounding success. Though some female audience members were understandably offended by the rape scenes and depiction of women (Leone was often accused of misogyny based on this film's content), the film was extremely successful, garnering a fifteen minute standing ovation from the audience. The uncut European version of the film won rave reviews, and was very successful throughout Europe and abroad. However, several sneak premieres in Canada and the US gained a mixed reception at best (some suspect due to studio tampering). The film was drastically edited, as mentioned above, more for commercial reasons than anything else. Leone, who had turned down an offer to make The Godfather twelve years earlier, was indignant when several American critics compared the butchered version of his film to "a Jewish Godfather". The 144-minute version was a huge flop and the American critics destroyed it. Roger Ebert however noted in a 1984 review that the original longer cut was a masterpiece, but that the American theatrical cut was a travesty.

The uncut version of the film, however, was by far Leone's most critically acclaimed film, and today it has a large cult following. James Woods who considers Once Upon A Time In America as his finest work mentioned in the DVD commentary that one critic called the film the worst of 1984, only to see the original cut years later and call it the best of the 80's. Ebert, in his review of Brian DePalma's The Untouchables, called the original uncut version the best film depicting the prohibition era. [1] Sight and Sound magazine placed it among the ten best films of the last twenty five years when they attempted to do a poll on recent films. Though not Leone's most well-known or liked film, and it is often compared unfavorably to The Godfather, Once Upon A Time In America has finally been given its due as a classic film.

[edit]

External links

de:Es war einmal in Amerika es:Érase una vez en América fa:روزی روزگاری در امریکا fr:Il était une fois en Amérique it:C'era una volta in America nl:Once Upon a Time in America ru:Однажды в Америке (фильм) sq:Once Upon a Time in America sv:Once Upon a Time in America zh:美国往事

Retrieved from "http://www.netipedia.com/index.php/Once_Upon_a_Time_in_America"

Once Upon a Time in America

From Free net encyclopedia

Contents

Source-Novel and Plot-Summary

The Hoods